Been a whirlwind since boarding the Explorer.

First suggestion if you have booked a G2 it might be worth spending the $$ for an F cabin. I actulally have not seen a G2 yet but everyone so far in. G2,says they are too small.

The F cabin is great. So many drawers we have empty drawers. Closet works great and super bathroom. Too many drawers in the bathroom as well.

The ship is spectacular and the restaurants and public rooms are stunning. Have to see them to get the concept of how spacious and they are. The decor everywhere is wonderful.

Finally, some seamail! I was thinking you had forgotten us. Have fun and we will see you in a week.

Yeah! Sea Mail! Figured everyone was having TOO much fun to take time to post anything!!

Thanks for the feedback on the G cabins Ngaire - that's kind of what I heard thru the grapevine.

Ngaire, the picture of the F cabins show the desk in the area with the bed, like on Voyager Penthouse suites. The picture of the G2 cabins show the desk outside of the curtain from the bed. Since i like to work at the desk while Arlene sleeps, it seems that the G2 would actually be better than the F. Are the pictures of the cabins on website accurate? This is one of those important items for us.

Hope cruise is fantastic; waiting for more seamail.

Marc

Marc I am going to see a G cabin and a PH cabin soon with people in our group. This is a port everday cruise and got to try and sqeeze this is between excursions. I will report back when I see the cabins. The ship is completely full so nothing to view. We will take pictures but of course the cabins will not look perfect when they are occupied.

Food has been terrific. Compass rose has so much to offer it may be the restaurant of choice for many. The Captains dinner is not the big deal it used to be. Available every night there is lobster and a really nice serving I had it last night. The halibut that was on the old menus was twice the size than it was before. All the best things are available every night anyway. I am in heaven but in a state of confusion trying to decide between so many things I love. Tonight is Prime 7 and I hear an expanded menu. Normally I have problems choosing what to order but now I can have Dover sole whenever I want it I do I can take that out of my prime 7 meal.

I love this f category cabin. Like it more everyday. The bathroom is terrific. Room for everything and a nice sized shower and bathtub.

Hard to find fault with this suite. I would put in an extra small chair and I wish the glass was the whole length of the cabin but there is a 3ft wall in between the Windows. Everything else is good.

The overall the ship is probably a little over decorated for some in places but the detail is amazing. Pictures don't work here you have to see the ship.

The main thing I do not like is the bowling alley look of the cabin hallways. Makes it seem like a huge mass market ship. I like the way the hallways on the other ships are broken up into smaller sections. Not a big thing and I am adapting to that.

Marc,
June and I are in an F2 739. The table by the sofa is good size, I am using that right now to type this. There is a curtain that can be drawn between where the bed is and the area with the sofa, table and access to the deck. You might find this area good to work at. The f2 is a terrific cabin. Lots of room, almost too many drawers, lots of counter top space to put things and many electrical outlets for stuff. There is one by the bed under the night stand thing, one by where the frig is and two by the desk area in the hallway.

The tv must be at least 40 inches and can be easily seen from the sofa or turned to see from the bed.

A terrific ship difficult to find fault with anything.

So glad everyone is having a great time....

I thought the G cabins were like standard suites on other Regent ships?

Is The Veranda H Cabins for singles? They look even smaller..

Wonderful to get seamail! Thanks, Ngaire and Ralph, for the info on the F cabins. That's what we are booked in next year and I've been wondering. Explorer sounds like an almost PERFECT ship. Can't wait to see it in person. Smooth sailing to all onboard now!

Marc the desk area in the G is behind the curtain close to the window like the regular mariner/voyager cabins. The cabin is much smaller than a mariner cabin, small closet and a one person at a time bathroom.

The ship is full so we can only see cabins that my clients have. I am going to find out on the debarkation day if I can see some other cabins.

Late now so hitting the sack. Just saw a fabulous show from John Barron so glad he is back with regent.

Can't wait to see John Barron again. Super nice guy. I am surprised the cabins in G are so much smaller. We are fine with a regular G cabin on Mariner. Now I am worried we made a mistake in booking G on explorer. But nothing to be done at this point since the ship will be sailing full.

Rachel, we are in same situation. Still, I am looking forward to having an aft facing cabin; never been able to enjoy that before. Will see after FROLIC if we want to only book F in future.

Marc

We to LOVE the F cabin layout. We've been inn 732 and currently 735, both are great locations and work great for us. This IMO is the most similar to the Voyager standard suites....but definitely even better.

Our Friends have cabin 702 (Seven Seas 2) and it is nothing great....if anyone is considering a Seven Seas Suite, make sure it is a #1 and not #2. There are two different floor plans. For example cabin 1010 is a #1 and has large living room, 2 baths, good size closet, multiple doors to the balcony etc. Our friends are currently in 702 and it has a skinny living room, tiny closet and only 1 bath and only 1 door leading to balcony. Nothing as nice as the SSS #1's.

Last night was John Barron's show and it was FABULOUS. He sang wonderful songs, lots of jokes, John being John. Besides being such a fun, nice guy, he is a great entertainer. He received a well deserved standing ovation. Everyone raved about it and so happy he's back with RSSC again. We stayed up way too late after the show between the casino and the Explorer Lounge (it was karaoke night). The place was really jumping. We called it a night about midnight with an early call this morning. At 9:00am this morning they had the Gold, Platinum, Titanium even. It was very nice in the Observation Lounge with a brunch type thing (it has a French name that I can't remember). It was well attended and one of the cast singers sang a couple beautiful songs in French. Lots of LTC people represented. It's the first time we've been on a cruise with a morning GPT event.

Off to get ready for our excursions....bye for now.

We bailed on our shore excursion turning in our tickets yesterday in favor of a little relaxing. Now I am second guessing that decision. It is a lovely day, not hot, great group going so kind of wish I had not changed my mind.

Valencia is a good port stop. It was REALLY hot (a heat wave in Spain) so the walking tour was too long and the guide too long winded so some people got taxis back. It was not a bad tour just too hot. We hung in there and at the end we visited the new museum complex absolutely stunning architecture. Ken Is working on pictures now.

Everyone enjoyed Palma de Mallorca. The cathedral and old town is very nice.

Trivia is great. Taking place in the observation lounge. Lots of couches and chairs, very easy for six to get together and not crowded. John has done it each day. We have played twice came third once. They now reward first, second and third place with coupons.

This is a big group 58 on this segment. So many great people here wish this cruise was longer. Been so busy since boarding. Fortunately most are on for two segments so we have a lot of time to enjoy everyone. Then some are on the post trip to the alps as well. I am very excited about the land program. Hitting some places on my wish list.

I really like the ship lots of things that work well. The food has jumped up significantly. Love the cabin, great crew and just all around very comfortable. Off to lunch at Chartreuse loved the menu yesterday so going back today.

It sounds like everyone is enjoying the ship. Can't wait to see it in December. Has anyone tried out the spa? Curious how it is.

MED Photos:


Wine tasting in Valencia, Spain.


June, Ngaire, & Marcie.


City of Arts and Sciences - Valencia.




The Regent Explorer.


Tom, Marcie, John, John Barron, Hee Ann, Ken, & Ngaire


Ibiza, Spain.




Sheila picks a preliminary free cruise winner.


Mary picks a preliminary free cruise winner.

Mallorca, Spain - We were told that Bill Gates has his yacht in the harbor.


Giant old olive tree in the square is said to be 600 to 800 years old.




Marseille, France.

I have never been busier on a ship. No time to post. Had some okay tours and some good tours.

My favorite so far was Portovenere from the port of La Spezia. About a 30 minutes boat ride, the boat was only about 33% full so that was nice. Gorgeous day and nice scenery on the way. This town was delightful. Right on the ocean and old style walled city with very nice stores a huge rock wall around the town and a wonderful fort and church at the top of the hill. Great guide as well. Only problem was it was a bit too long about 45 minutes shorter would have make it perfect. I would recommend this tour for sure. Hopefully Ken will post pictures. He is not playing trivia so he has that time to do pictures.

A group of us sat in a cafe and had Brushetta and June, Marcie and I finished it off with an gelato, half lemon and half berry. Absolutely yummy.

Today in Livorno we made it a "take the shuttle" day. The tour we wanted to take was in the afternoon and we would not be back in time for our Chartreuse reservations so we cancelled.

Sheila, Ken, Jim, Pam, Ken and I went into town. Found a lovely little cafe on the square. The pastries I normally do not eat but they all looked SO good we bought three and cut them up and has a little taste of them all. Each one was outstanding.

Then back to the ship where I ate way too much lunch and I have Chartreuse tonight and I just looked at the menu. It looks super.

Losing some people in Rome that I wish were staying and looking forward to others that come on in Rome. They offered a trip to Rome for those on the back to back and a special lunch in Prime 7 for the back to backers.

Love the ship, the longer I am here the more I like it.

At the airport fixing to board our flight any minute! See you Wednesday.

Safe travels Rachel! Hope to sail on the Explorer one day, it sounds fantastic
------------------
Helen

Thanks Helen! Missed the call from Clay about a possible upgrade as we were on the flight from TUL to ORD and of course, landed after 5

Rachel I hope an upgrade came through I will check on board here and see if (a) it did come through and (b) be sure they know you want to upgrade from a G.

Thanks, Ngaire. I got an email from Clay and believe all is well.

We are onboard. So glad we got the upsell to D. G is really small, particularly the bathroom and closet. I could see sailing there as a single, but my stuff would take up all the room. But the entire ship is beautiful.

Met Ngaire, Ken, Sheila, Joan and Richard as soon as we boarded. Good to see everyone.

Hello everyone

A port a day is too much we plan on creating some sea days in this segment. It is so busy. Today a group of us were trying to remember where we had been one day last week. We could remember what we saw but not the name of the town or the port.

Quick update on our port stops some new places for us on this itinerary.

St. Tropez we went to the little village of Gassin. It was delightful a true hill top town. Delightful to stroll the streets and then a coffee with a sensational view.

Arriving back at the port June wanted to go to one of the famous beaches (cannot remember the name now) where each stretch of sand is private to a restaurant or hotel. We took a taxi and he took us to a great spot and we had a wonderful lunch.
I had a salad that was covered with large prawns and Ken's burger was HUGE.

In Monte Carlo we went to St. Paul de Vence the artsy hill top village in the mountains. I must have been here about 10 times now but I always love it. One little shop there I seem to buy an item of clothing every time. This time was no exception.

An exceptional tour was from La Spezia to the town of Portovenere on the ocean. Thirty minute boat ride and we were there.This is another new port for us.

This town is built inside the walls of the fort and people still live in the town. When we arrived it was not crowded, the little stores were so quaint. No giant grocery stores here. Excellent guide, stunning scenery and a delightful day. We finished the day with a small shared flatbread and to top it off a fantastic gelato 1/2 lemon and 1/2 berry. They know how to make gelato in Italy.

Bastia in Corsica was a new port for us and we loved it. The bus ride took us over the mountains to view delightful little hill top village with lush green mountains and valleys. We had free time at St. Florent that was full of beautiful boats, restaurants and shops. The tour finished off with a wine tasting. The wines were not good but experience was nice.

Today we tendered into Amalfi and we went to a town we have not seen before, Ravello. Probably many of you have been here but for some reason this was new to us. Right on top of the mountain with very narrow and winding roads to get to the town. There was a villa here that was worth seeing. It was really just the ruins of the villas but the gardens were outstanding and of course the view was incredible. Four months a year they have concerts in the villa and the setting could not be any better.

No back on the ship I see another new port for us tomorrow - Catania. Looking forward to some more new adventures.

St. Tropez area of France:


June, Ralph, Ngaire, Ken, Tom, Marcie, & Sheila in Gassin, France.


Hilltop Cafes.






The famous Pampelonne Beach in St. Tropez.


The Infinity Pool behind the spa on the Regent Explorer.

I love St. Paul de Vence! I waited a year for a reservation at the fantastic restaurant Colombe D'Or just to see the artwork that is on display there. A very memorable day. Thanks for the memory, Ngaire.
------------------
Helen

Saint Paul de Vence:
















Jim buys Pam some beautiful flowers.

sounds like the first segment was perfect, loved the pictures. Wish we could have been there. Looking forward to news and pictures from the new segment. Can't wait to get onboard ourselves in March with lots of sea days to enjoy the ship. The food sounds wonderful, and how nice that P7 and Chartruse are open for lunch, nice change.

It all sounds so wonderful! And the pictures prove it!

Portovenere, Italy.




Portovenere, Italy.


Caper plants.




Marcie makes a friend.


Nice seafood restaurant.

We won trivia for the first time yesterday but failed today to even place. How short the time is basking in the glory of a win!!

Not such a good tour today. One of those guides that never stops talking, too much bus and really no free time. But the good thing was it it was short so we were able to get back for a nice lunch. Today they cooked whole fish on the inside grill. That is a nice new feature an inside grill similar to the grill they only had on the deck on the other ships.

Tonight we go to Sette Mare for the first time. We are sailing so we will not sit outside but looking forward to the dinner.

Tomorrow we are just doing a "sea day" may go into town on the shuttle bus but no tour.

We are having a great time, but so busy! Had a great food tour yesterday with the chef in Catania. It is good to see everyone. And the ship is amazing. George says the spa is the first on a ship hat looks like a purpose built spa rather then something that was just stuck in where they could find a sport to put it.

In Durres, Albania today. We did not do a tour but many of us gathered in the coffee lounge this morning as we did not arrive until 12 noon. That was so nice to get together. We are all so busy do not see each other as much. Now I really appreciate sea days.

we just walked into town and Durres did surprise us. Very clean in the main city, expensive cars, I had not expected that. Not as nice as a French or Italian city by any stretch of the imagination but better than expected. My ice cream cost 50 cents usually about 3 euros previously.

Last night we ate at Sette Mari outside. It was lovely, not hot and no wind. Good food, good service and even better company.

Tomorrow night we draw the winner for the 12 nights free on Regent. Cant wait to see who will win this time.

St. Florent, Corsica.




Sheila & Ngaire.








Monastery in St. Florent, Corsica.

Amalfi, Italy:

Ken, I loved the photo of the kitty and the frog. Being a firefighter all those years must have sharpened your eye for what is beautiful and unusual. Thanks for the pictures. Angie

The kitty and the frog is a great pic!

Catania (Sicily), Italy:


Sheila, Pam, Ken, Ngaire, & June.




A photo of a photo taken 11\23\2013 of a Mt. Etna eruption.


Taken from the ship.

The Frog and Kitty picture is so cute. I'm surprised the Frog didn't hop away from the Cat.

Durres, Albania. The tours were all long so we just walked into the town. It was cleaner and nicer than I thought it would be. Lots of unemployment here and a struggling economy so I was not expecting much. Ice cream was only 50 cents. Marcie and Tom had a massage that was inexpensive and she said that it was a lovely spa and one of the best massages ever. Who would have thought that!

Yesterday was great. I love Montenegro such a beautiful little country. It was a very scenic bus ride - 25 hair pin turns. Not good for people who do not like a mountain road like that but the scenery was spectacular. The town that you can walk to from the tender dock is one of the cleanest and nicest small towns ever. Food was good and very inexpensive. June and I shared a club sandwich for $6 and could barely eat it all.

Night before last leaving Albania we had a huge lightning storm, and heavy rain. However the ocean must have remained calm as the ship did not move. It was beautiful to watch.

This has been the calmest cruise ever! I almost wish for a little chop so we can see how this ship sails. Feel like we have been on land all this time. I have heard from crew members that this ship handles any rough water extremely well so that is always good news. I really like this ship and so happy we will be coming back on Frolic in March.

Great day in Ravenna - unbelievably beautiful Mosaics in the Churches. Rivals anything we have seen anywhere else in the world. We did not do a tour just took the shuttle bus and really enjoyed ourselves. On the way out a band started playing and they were followed by old bicycles with old men riding them and they were going through all the streets. Great fun!

Today we were in Koper, Slovenia. What a delightful place. Lovely scenery, very lush and green, rolling hills and three seaside towns. We did a hop on hop off bus tour from Regent. Worked out perfectly. We left the bus in the town of Koper and walked back to the ship. Again a delightful day.

Been such a great cruise sad it is coming to an end.

I've loved following along on this cruise -- ship descriptions, port descriptions, and as always Ken's wonderful photos!

Hello from Innsbruck!
We left the Explorer early this morning and drove to Innsbruck. We'll be touring the Alps for the next 5 days. There are only 18 of us doing the post cruise and 14 of us are in Ngaire's group. Needless to say we kind of owned the bus haha. It is beautiful here and now we're leaving for a 2 hour city walk. We have a lot crammed in for the next 5 days.

Tom and I haven't been to Austria for 23 years and then were only in Vienna. After 34 nights on the Explorer that was sure feeling like home. It's such a fabulous ship but glad we're doing this post trip. Austria is really beautiful!

looks amazing Marcie! So glad you had a great cruise..

This was such a busy cruise that I didn't post much, but it was wonderful to see some old friends and make new ones. The ship is fabulous. We fly home tomorrow morning early

June and I are spending a week after the cruise doing a land trip with Mark and Cheron Kneedy. Today we drove to Verona and discovered a wonderful and vibrant city. Did a two hour walk around after some lunch. It is a city I would highly recommend for a visit.
Tonight we had dinner at Maffei Restaurante which is just off the Plaza Erbe in a wonderful setting in part of the old city structure. Had a most enjoyable meal and some wonderful wine.

We are staying at Hotel Academia which is a perfect location to walk the many city streets. A very walkable city.

Tomorrow we travel to the Lake Como area and plan to spend 5 nights there before traveling back to Venice to start for home.

Kotor, Montenegro:









KLT cocktail party with drawing of cruise winner for 2017








And the winner is: Chris & Linda Bailey. Congratulations!!

Behind as usual. Venice was great a sunny nice day. I did a little too much walking but had fun walking around Venice topped off by a yummy lemon gelato.

We left the ship and drove to Salzburg. We got caught in a big traffic jam something I did not expect in the mountain countryside of Austria. The scenery was beautiful, green mountain sides with lots of nice houses and quite a lot of castles. There was a two hour walking tour with a very good guide in the old town of Salzburg. Last night there was a marathon run through the town. We went to a pizza restAurant and had a very tasty pizzas. One big bowl of pasta, two large salads, three super sized pizzas and two bottles of wine, cost per couple $25. Really reasonable.

We have a long day today and I will be ticking Ludwig's castle off my list. Been wanting to see this castle for years. We will not be back tonight until about 7.30pm. We are across from the train station and there is a nice grocery store with a hot food deli. Probably will just grab something there and crash.

Be back tomorrow.

Split, Croatia:

Back in Innsbruck after a very busy day. The weather was perfect today. Hardly a cloud in the sky and very pleasant temperatures.

We visited a charming little German town of Garmisch. There is one Main Street where the houses and shops have paintings, flower boxes, and quaint signs. It was Sunday and some locals were attending church in National dress. We were the only tourists in the town so just a few people strolling around. Lots of cute kids to wave to as they passed by our group.

Still in Germany we then took a Cable car to Zugspitze platform at a height of 10,000 feet, It took about 10 minutes. The line was long but we were able to get ahead of the line as a group. We were crammed in like sardines but it got us to the top and the view at the top was breathtaking. The guides suggested we bring food with us as it can be busy at the top and as it was Sunday they were not sure if all the food outlets would be open. As it turned out we could have eaten at the local eateries but we enjoyed our sandwiches. People were climbing on the sides of this massive mountain without being roped. Unbelievable.

After our time at the summit we took a different cable car down and ended up in Austria. That was kind of fun, still crammed in like sardines. We boarded the bus and headed for Ludwigs Castle.

First sight of the castle did not disappoint. It was a bit of a zoo logistically. You can walk, ride a horse drawn carriage or take a special mountain bus to get up to the castle. Still quite a walk after the bus or horse carriage to finally reach the entrance to the castle. There were Long lines for the bus and the horse carriage with no apparent organization. The guide was trying to help but it was a mess. But eventually we got a carriage and all crammed in together to get to the top. Maddy and Paul walked ( in hindsight the best idea) two took the bus and the rest opted for the horse carriage.

Do not know how many steps there were but A LOT for sure. We walked up from one level to another on spiral stairs. So be prepared for that if you visit this castle. This part of the visit is well organized. A fairly large group enter every five minutes. Our guide spoke well and we could all hear us and got us through very efficiently.

We have been to many castles in our travels but this was really spectacular. Sensory overload for sure. No way to come close to absorbing everything we were seeing. I was not disappointed it exceeded my expectations. One 1.6 million visitors each year go through Ludwigs castle.

We were all exhausted at the end of the day and we did not get back to the hotel until 8.00 pm. Most went back to the pizza restaurant where we ate the night before which was really good. However Ken and I decided to grab something fast and crash instead.

Tomorrow Eagles Nest. Has to be good weather we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Ravenna, Italy:



STUNNING MOSAICS






THE LOCAL MARCHING BAND AND BIKE RIDERS.

Koper, Slovenia.

Next day was EAGLES NEST. The private retreat in the mountains for Hitler. The view was unbelievable. We had a picture perfect day. No wind at all even at the top of the mountain it was a perfect temperature. Everyone really loved the visit. Nowhere near as crowded as Ludwig's Castle.

A special bus took us the last four kilometers then a brass elevator that held about forty people took us to the top. I wish there was more information with some history but it was really just one restaurant and the viewing area. Nevertheless it was enjoyed by all.

We had dinner at the Sheraton that night and that was a surprise. Our expectations were low but it turned out great. Funny fantastic waiter and outstanding food. We were all happy campers.

Next morning we had a walking tour of Saltzburg. It is a nice old town full of shops and places to eat. Then we loaded up and headed for Munich.

Octoberfest is taking place right now in Munich. Maddy and Paul went and said it was great. All the beer drinking in the tents and families and rides outside. They said the experience was something they were glad they did not miss. The rest of us just did not want to make the effort we were all tired

It was a tiring trip with lots of bus riding. The weather was perfect and the sites we saw lived up to my expectations. Hotels could have been better but the company was great. There were 18 people in the group and 14 of them were our clients. One other very nice couple that fit in well. Then one other couple that pretty much stayed to themselves.

Now in Munich airport on our way home

Safe travels home, Ngaire. Thanks for all the posts! I think I need to get on the Explorer
---------------------
Helen

We made it home last night. Unfortunately we were up at 3:00am. I sorted 1 month's worth of mail and booked our return flight from Reykjavik so at least got that accomplished.

It was a WONDERFUL trip but it sure feels good to be home again.

Haha, Jonathan is at octoberfest in Munich. You must have missed him. I am sure he is hanging with the young crowd though!